St. Francis of Assisi was asked one day as he was weeding in the garden, “What would you do if you knew the world was about to end?” St. Francis replied, “Continue weeding my garden of course.” The implication was that Francis didn’t have to rush around like a headless chicken putting his house in order. Francis was already living his life in a state
In Jesus' day, when visitors came to the Temple they were able to purchase animals or doves to offer as sacrifices. Because the Jews considered Roman coinage bearing Caesar’s head as idolatrous, they were given the opportunity to exchange their Roman coins for Temple coinage. The idea was originally a good one, but the moneylenders were operating an unfair exchange rate for overpriced animals. What
A large crowd approaches the gate of Nain. A grieving widow is burying her only son. Then Jesus comes forward and touches the bier. “Young man,” he says, “I say to you rise.” Miraculously the dead man sits up and begins to speak. It’s a wonderful scene, but what is the story about? The grieving widow doesn’t fall on her knees and beg Jesus to
Can you remember the thrill of a good exam result? The trouble with exam results is, that despite the knowledge that exams are about measuring our own potential, we still like to compare our marks against those of our classmates. Our success is made all the more meaningful by the fact that others have done less well. If this mentality stopped at exams this wouldn’t
Thomas Edison, a famous and prolific American inventor, is accredited the famous quote that success is, “One percent Inspiration and ninety nine percent perspiration!” The idea is that however clever or creative we are, success is mostly about hard work, patience and dedication. It appears that success is more about not giving up than anything else. So what if we adopted the same attitude when
1. Faith can move mountains… well it can certainly get us moving. Recall a time when you were full of self-doubt, skepticism about a project, or lacking trust in God. What was that like? Contrast this with times when you believed in yourself, or in the value of a project you had undertaken, or when your faith and trust in God was strong. What kind
